Soldier of Fortune 2: Double Helix

Ferrago take a gander at Raven's Quake 3-powered ultra-violent sequel.

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The game will make full use of the benefits of the Quake III: Team Arena engine, which has rapidly become the frontrunner favorite for creating first-person-shooters. Its inherent graphics capabilities and large terrain capabilities have been put to great use by many developers in the past (most notably with Medal of Honor: Allied Assault). Raven has made several advances with the engine, to suit SOFII’s specific needs. The GHOUL rendering system (the system SOF used to enable the graphic dismemberments) has been updated to the GHOUL 2 system, complete with more precise “by the pixel” wound accuracy and several more “dismemberment points” than the first title. Although the game will sport all of the gore one would expect from the franchise, the developers have stated that the dismemberments will be on a more realistic scale than the original title. For instance, players will not be able to blow off a leg below the knee with a small handgun… the more graphic gore will have to be the result of larger weaponry. All the character animations will be motion captured, and sport 3000 polygon enemies. The weapons themselves will be comprised of 1500 polys each (and, in response to the desires of many players, Mullins will now be able to attack the enemies in a “guns akimbo/Chow-Yun Fat” style, with different firearms in either hand. It’s going to be quite the visual treat. Quake III’s terrain engine has also been tweaked and modified by Raven into their TORR system, which should provide truly awesome environments. Both the AI and the scripting system are brand new as well, which should deliver the gaming experience that players have come to expect lately… including NPC interactivity. SOFII will actually contain three different types of AI, including “Friendly” (your teammates reactions to your orders and procedures), “Enemy”, which will decide how devious an intelligent the enemies will be when hunting you down (including their ability to find new weapons when their current ones run out of ammo), and “Thug AI”, which consist of the lone assassins that refuse to work with a team and try to destroy you with sheer force.